Brushstrokes
by WolfMockingjay
Summary: "Ah, a fabulous world/That can be seen with a swipe of a paintbrush" A series of one-shots centered around various pairings and occasionally their families. Ranging from fluffy to dark.
1. Chapter 1

_"Never wanna stand up for myself_

_Never wanna get in the way, I said it_

_I don't know what the plan is,_

_But you can share with me, 'cause I'll_

_Be listening here,_

_To everything you say, I won't turn away_

_And I will listen, open up my heart and_

_I must say that I love you so"_

_~'I Would Do Anything for You'_ by Foster the People

I Would Do Anything for You (~ GerIta)

Italy slowly rolled out of bed as he felt soft rays of sunlight brush his face. Setting his feet on the cold hardwood floor and stretching his arms above his head, he walked over to his bedroom window. Gazing out, he wasn't too surprised to see that Germany had started training with Japan for the day, and Italy grimaced slightly at the thought of Ludwig reprimanding him for arriving late once again.

"Ve…" Italy sighed softly. As clumsy and oblivious as he came off as, Feliciano was well aware of his spaciness and failure to follow orders. _And_ how frustrated he made Germany. Ludwig wasn't afraid to voice his irritation when Italy did something idiotic. But as he wandered around his bedroom in search of the day's uniform, Feliciano considered his feelings for the German nation. Lately, he found himself feeling extra guilty when he showed up late for training or took a siesta out of unintentional boredom as they went over battle strategies. There was a part of him that sought to please Ludwig⎯even if it meant countless hours of exercise⎯and actually make him proud for once. His heart beat as rapidly as a hummingbird's as Germany's (surprisingly) gentle hands would fix his shoelaces due to Italy's own inability to tie shoes. Feliciano felt countless butterflies in his stomach when Ludwig casually brushed up against him during a cleaning spree while the Italian prepped some pasta for dinner. He found himself noticing Germany's smallest details and quirks, too, like how his blue orbs could alternate between a chilling icy tone and a soft pastel color, depending on his mood. How Germany's favorite pastime curling up with a good book next to the fireplace with his dogs beside him. How perfectly toned his perfectly muscular figure was….particularly his abs….

Yes, Italy concluded that he was falling hopelessly in love with the stoic German.

Jogging from the house over to the field where Germany was having Japan begin running his laps, Feliciano thought of how much he wished to just be able to go up to his love and be enveloped in his strong embrace. To run up to Germany at full speed and admit his love (most likely bursting into tears). Shaking off his daydream, Italy reminded himself that today was not the day. Who knows how Ludwig would react! _He'd probably strangle me, thinking I was pulling a prank on him,_ Italy mused. Feliciano assured himself that someday he would admit his feelings, but right now, he'd focus on improving his athleticism as well as his courage. Because as much as he disliked his morning laps and intense physical training, he would do it for Germany.

As Ludwig caught sight of the nervous Italian, Italy braced himself for a fierce scolding. However, Germany pretended not to notice.

"Start running your ten laps, Italia. I'd like to be finished before lunch," he said in a gruff yet subdued voice, lightly pinching the bridge of his nose in a display of mock annoyance toward Italy.

Thankful for getting off the hook so quickly, Feliciano skipped off to begin his laps, thinking nothing of Germany's out of character demeanor.

Turning his back, Italy was unaware of the timid smile that spread across Germany's face. For, that morning, Germany had been contemplating _his own_ feelings of affection toward the Italian, terribly unsure of how to act on them and terrified that his love did not feel the same way.

**A/N: Yayyy for GerIta! Hope y'all liked this first one :) Terribly short, I know, but that's probably gonna be the pattern here. Just little snippets into their lives, some fluffy, some angsty. I highly suggest listening to the songs that inspired each chapter. I try to make them really connect with a specific character or pairing. I have a long list of songs in mind, but if you have any pairing or character requests, feel free to drop by the reviews! (I'll try to address requests, but I am not familiar with some of the less prevalent characters enough to write them-sorry!). Reviews are very very much appreciated :) Ciao~!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This one is a bit more somber than the last, and I'm trying my hand at writing fics that aren't so….overly fluffy xP Takes place during the Cold War. Human names and country names used. (Not particularly intended to be a romantic pairing, just brotherly)**

"_Oh brother I can't, I can't get through_

_I've been trying hard to reach you, cause I don't know what to do_

_Oh brother I can't believe it's true_

_I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you_

_Oh I wanna talk to you"_

_~'Talk' _by Coldplay

Talk (~Germany & Prussia)

"You have _seven _new messages," trilled the answering machine in Germany's living room. He hadn't been gone that long—only a few hours that day as he attended another NATO meeting—but the abundance of messages was no surprise to the German nation. In fact, he had refused to listen to the previous ones, consistently deleting them, but America had told him at the meeting that they might provide valuable information, so Germany went to face his fears. He sighed, bracing himself for the recordings that he dreaded to hear. Pressing a few buttons, it began a message playback.

The answering machine's speaker crackled a little bit and played the first message."Hey, bruder, it's the...awesome me...again," there was an evident lack of enthusiasm behind the word 'awesome', "I can't stay on the phone for long—I'm afraid Ivan will get suspicious. Heh, actually, I'm not s'posed to be using it in the first place. Latvia was able to hook one up secretly in his bedroom...he's a smart kid. Anyway, I was really hoping that you'd pick up, but I guess I called at a bad time. I've been having these agonizing headaches. It feels like someone is trying to split my skull with a dull axe. I think it has something to do with...well, with what's been going on. I need to talk to you, bruder. I can feel myself slipping away." And with that cryptic plea, the message ceased and was deleted. The ones that followed were from Prussia, as well, but none sounded as...desperate as the first. His voice became increasingly subdued and emotionless, as if he was suppressing his deeper emotions out of apprehension. As if someone might be watching over his shoulder or secretly recording his phone calls.

The final message played, as cold and indifferent as the one that preceded it, and Germany breathed a sigh of slight relief. He tried to focus on the positives: his brother could somewhat keep in contact with him, even if he _was_ technically forbidden to make phone calls, and he was _alive_. But Ludwig had an ominous feeling that Russia was keeping a close eye on the Prussian nation, and keeping in touch would only put Prussia's life in more danger. And what about the last part of the message? Splitting headaches? Yes, Germany was experiencing them too, in fact, and just as severely. Dividing the land into four separate zones after World War II caused the two nations to feel excruciating physical pain, and the brothers yearned for the lands of Germany to be unified once more.

Germany pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling one of those notorious headaches coming on, and made his way to the kitchen to brew himself a cup of tea to calm his nerves.

Then, all of a sudden, the doorbell rang, and there was a light knock at the door.

_Oh, wunderbar_, thought Germany, _It's probably America coming to lecture me about his new plans to outdo the Soviet Union in production and technology_. Germany sighed, rolling his eyes at the thought of the immature nation. Upon opening the door, however, he almost didn't see the young girl standing there.

"Hallo, Mister Germany," Liechtenstein said sweetly, her emerald eyes sparkling up at him. She was dressed in a long pink gown with a small purple ribbon affixed in her hair and held a mysterious package, carefully wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string.

"Oh, hallo, Liechtenstein. Please come in, out of the cold. I wasn't expecting you." Something in the back of Germany's mind reminded him to be wary of Switzerland, as her older brother would probably not approve of her travelling so far on her own. He added, "Does your bruder know you came all this way? Here, sit down, I just brewed some tea."

"I told Switzy that I'm running a few errands and that I'd be back in no time. Thank you for the tea," she replied with a bright smile.

Several minutes passed as the pair sipped their tea in Germany's living room and discussed simple things like the weather and different varieties of tea they had come across. Both were very tentative to avoid touchy subjects such as international affairs.

Placing her teacup and saucer on the coffee table in front of her, Liechtenstein began quietly, "Danke for your hospitality, Mister Germany, but I actually came here to give you something."

Germany raised his eyebrows quizzically as the young girl took the wrapped parcel in her hands.

Avoiding Germany's gaze, she explained, "Switzerland has been making sure that I keep up with my study of international politics lately, and I heard about what happened to you and your brother. I'm so very sorry for you two. I don't know what I would do without Switzerland, and I know you both must feel the same." Liechtenstein trailed off, and her wide green eyes were filled with soft tears. "Anyway, whenever I'm sad, I knit or crochet. I like making things for other people, especially matching things. You probably heard about the pink pajama set that I made for my brother?" she said with a small smile. Germany nodded. "I made them so he would have a token to remember me by if we were ever went our separate ways, and my pajamas reminds me of him, in turn."

Then, she motioned for Germany to open the gift.

Removing the light brown paper, Ludwig gasped. A pair of fuzzy black and white mittens sat within the package. Liechtenstein had delicately crocheted a detailed and very accurate Prussian flag.

"I managed to smuggle the other pair to Hungary. She promised to give it to him. Auf Wiedersehen, Mister Germany. I must be getting back home, or Switzy will worry." With that, she turned and left. But Germany did not have to ask about who the other pair of mittens was for, or what they looked like. He had already figured that out.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Prussia sat on the cold floor of Latvia's bedroom with the telephone practically glued to his hand (considering the number of times he had attempted to call his brother). He had finally accepted the fact that Ludwig would not return his calls, but it was still comforting to hear his brother's gruff voice on the answering machine, instructing the caller to leave a message when he was not at home. It provided him _some _comfort. Gilbert heard the floorboards creaking behind him softly.

"Sorry for hogging the phone, Raivis. I mean, really, who am I kidding? I know West is avoiding me. It's a lost cause," he remarked, expecting the youngest Baltic nation. His voice was thick with despair.

"Hello, Prussia," stated a female voice.

Prussia whipped around in shock to face the speaker. "H-Hungary?! Why are you disturbing….me? Can't you see that I'm busy? I don't need to be bothered by your un-awesomeness at the moment." However, Hungary could see that there was no true anger directed toward her in his words. Only sadness. They had barely spoken since they became Soviet satellites, not saying more than a few words as they passed each other in the halls of the mansion.

"I know how much you miss him. Poland told me about how he and the Baltics are trying to conceal from Russia the fact that you're using the phone to call your brother almost every day." Hungary sat down next to him, patting his back softly. She placed a wrapped package in his lap. "It's from Liechtenstein."

Tearing away the paper, Prussia's eyes widened in disbelief. He clutched the soft mittens close to his heart.

"I miss my bruder so much, Hungary. I hate living with Ivan. I...I want to go back to my homeland." Gilbert soon lost his composure and laid his head against Hungary's shoulder to muffle his sobs.

"Shh, it'll be alright. We'll all be okay, and we'll get out of this. Someday, you'll get to see the man whose flag you wear proudly on these mittens. But for right now, we need to be strong."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, readers! Sorry for such a delay on this one :( I've had plenty of ideas and inspiration (surprisingly), but I've been really preoccupied with finals week and such. But that's over! Woohoo! I'd love to give a special thanks to Let-it-lie for your feedback and winterpolo for your continual support of my writing process :) The inspiration for this one is actually incorporated into the fic, but I tweaked the pronouns a bit...let's see how this goes. I'll be working on some longer (and more serious) one-shots, but this is one that just came to me one day when this song came on and it was dying to be written. I suggest listening to the song before/during your reading ;) Enjoy!**

"_My pride still feels the sting_

_You were my everything_

_Some day I'll find a love like yours"_

_~'Fifty Ways to Say Goodbye' _by Train

Fifty Ways to Say Goodbye (~LietPol)

"Liet, you like totally need to get over that her….She was a complete psycho, just like⎯hey! Are to even listening to me?" Poland asked, impatiently.

Lithuania was staring sadly into the amber depths of his beer, deep in thought. After the world meeting, the nations all went out to a local bar for drinks. Including Belarus, who had furiously proclaimed to Lithuania earlier that morning that "she had no interest in dating anyone as depressing and lowly as him since the only one for her was Big Brother Russia". Which only resulted in a frightened Russia and a tearful Lithuania bolting out of the meeting room to be chased by a lovesick Belarus and concerned Poland, respectively.

"I figured that she didn't like me, Po, I just…..I don't know. I just thought that she would like me if we went on a date and got to know each other. What do you think, Feliks?" Lithuania mumbled somberly, but when he looked over, Poland had disappeared.

"Why does no one listen to me…" he muttered, aimlessly tracing circles around his glass.

Poland was whispering to America, who was the DJ. With a devious smile he skipped over to Lithuania. "_We_ are going to dance! C'mon!" he said, dragging his friend to the dance floor. Liet reluctantly complied.

A new song started, and Poland seemed to be quite familiar with the lyrics. Lithuania began to recognize the tune⎯it soundly oddly like a certain Train song that he heard at America's place. _Probably one of those popular breakup songs or something,_ Lithuania mused. _Oh no..._

"Look, Liet, ya gotta forget about her. Loosen up!" he said with a smirk before returning to the lyrics. "You gotta just pretend….

_She went down in an airplane_

_Fried getting suntanned_

_Fell in a cement mixer full of quicksand_

_Help me, help me, I'm no good at goodbyes!_

_She met a shark under water_

_Fell and no one caught her_

_You returned everything ya ever bought her_

_Help me, help me, I'm all out of lies_

_And ways to say she died_"

Poland took his friend's hands and spun him around a few times. Laughing softly, Liet decided to continue the song.

"_My pride still feels the sting_

_She was my everything _

_Someday I'll find a love like hers_," he sang as his eyes drifted longingly toward Belarus on the other side of the club (who was currently clawing at the locked door of the bathroom where her brother was hiding).

By the final verses of the song, Poland and Lithuania, joined by several intoxicated nations, sang a duet and danced side by side. Feliks spun him around one last time. Before he crashed his lips into Lithuania's.

**Meh….not my best. One of the lines of the song is she "Got run over by a crappy purple Scion****", and it makes me think of Lithuania 'cuz it's said that he buys used cars ;) I have ****nothing against Belarus, and I'm actually planning one all about her :D Reviews keep me motivated and truly brighten my day. Ciao!~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, y'all! Look! SuFin, another one of my favorites! This takes place in modern day, in Sweden, and yes, Anna is their biological child :3 Don't like Mpreg? I sorry, then don't read this one :P I was actually inspired to write this after reading Toni Morrison's **_**The Bluest Eye**_ **for school, since the chapters begin with an excerpt from a **_**Dick and Jane **_**children's primer. It made me think about the nations' kids and their unconventional families, and then I wrote this! Random note: isn't Finland's Hatafutte Parade the cutest thing ever?! Listening to it as I wrote this ;) **

**Some translations (in italics in the text, just so ya know)…Please let me know if these are inaccurate! Sadly, I don't know Finnish or Swedish (I want to learn!) so I have to rely on google translate :P **

**äiti - mom (Finnish) **

**pappa - dad (Swedish) **

**sötnos - sweetheart (Swedish) **

**Jag älskar dig (med) - I love you (too) (Swedish)**

"_On this journey that you're making_

_There'll be answers that you'll seek_

_And it's you who'll climb the mountain_

_It's you who'll reach the peak"_

'_Son of Man' _ ~Phil Collins

Son of Man (~SuFin)

A petite blonde stood quietly on the corner of the sidewalk outside her elementary school in Stockholm, Sweden, waiting patiently for her big brother to be dismissed from class. Anna Väinämöinen-Oxenstierna was five years and attended kindergarten, while Peter was in ninth grade at the adjoining high school, though his human age and appearance hadn't changed much. Anna had straight, shoulder length light blond hair, soft bluish-violet eyes, and a delicate frame. She spoke softly, but with slightly more enunciation than her father, and inherited his introverted personality. Anna definitely took after her Finnish mother in kindness and a cheery personality once you got to know her.

Anna sighed, pushing her wire-frame glasses farther up the bridge of her nose and clutching her schoolbooks to her chest. She caught sight of older sixth grade boy with a stocky build, being trailed by his two equally intimidating sidekicks. The notorious bullies of the school, Alexander, Elliot, and Nathalie.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here? Our little four-eyed Finnish freak!" Alexander teased.

"What do you want, Alex?" she said quietly without meeting his mocking glare.

"Oh, we just wanna play with ya, Four Eyes!" Nathalie proclaimed with an emphatic gesture that "accidentally" knocked the books out of Anna's arms and into a nearby puddle. When she ran over to grab them, Elliot stuck out his foot and tripped the little girl, sending her glasses flying.

"M...my glasses! Give them back, you guys! I can't see a thing without them, and you know that!" Anna said nervously. It was true, she inherited Sweden's poor eyesight and was blind as a bat without her glasses.

"You want 'em back, Four Eyes?" said Elliot, dangling Anna's glasses before her face as she flailed her arms around in search of them. "Too bad!" He cracked the lenses beneath his foot.

"Hey! What are you guys doing to my sister?!"

"Peter!" Anna ran toward her brother's voice and wrapped her arms around him. She was careful not to call him "Sealand" in front of other humans.

He bent down on one knee, "Are you alright, Anna? You hurt?" Sniffling softly, Anna wiped her tears and shook her head.

"And what are _you _gonna do to us, Shorty?" Alexander said mockingly, smirking. Despite being three years younger, he stood taller than Peter.

Sealand growled, "I _am _older than all of you, and you have something to be afraid of!"

"Oh, yeah? You gonna run crying to your mommy? Oh, that's right! You don't _have _one!" Elliot remarked with an evil grin.

Tears began streaming down Anna's pale cheeks. "Th-that's not t-true! Finny is my _äiti_ and Sve is my _pappa_! Right, Peter?" She tugged at her brother's hand for reassurance.

"My dad says your parents are freaks, just like you. Your dad even calls his husband a 'wife'!" Nathalie continued teasing them.

Peter picked up Anna's sopping wet textbooks, snatched her now smashed glasses from Elliot, and took the young girl by the hand. "C'mon, Anna. Let's go, Papa's here."

The three older children continued shouting insults at the pair as they walked quickly toward the car. When they were out of earshot, Sealand whipped around to face his sister.

"Anna? What did I tell you about mentioning us as nations in front of humans? You can't reveal our identities!" Peter instructed. There was a sharp edge to his words.

Anna sniffled softly, "I'm really sorry, Big Brother. But thanks for standing up for me."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just...glad you're okay."

Anna raised an eyebrow, quizzically. "You seem sad today, Big Brother. You wanna talk about it?"

Peter sighed, saying, "It doesn't concern you, Anna. You'll go blabber to Mama about it, anyway, and it's personal, big kid stuff."

"It's Latvia, isn't it? You always make that pouty face when he isn't returning your texts."

Sealand only opened the door of Sweden's small car, looking at his sister with a cold stare. Anna hopped in the back seat with Peter next to her.

"_Pappa_? Where's _Äiti_? He usually picks us up from school," she murmured, slightly disappointed that Finland wasn't there. She was very eager to show him a picture of Hanatamago that she finger painted in art class.

"Y'ur m'm isn't feelin' too good t'day, _sötnos_ . He's stayin' in bed," Sweden explained.

The ride home was painfully quiet, even for _their _family, and Sweden silently wondered what had happened at school. Thankfully, Anna had managed to retrieve her extra pair of glasses (meant for emergencies like these) from her backpack before her father noticed.

Later that day, Sweden had returned to the kitchen to cook dinner in place of Finland, Finland was fast asleep, and Sealand retreated to his room, most likely texting Wy about why Latvia wasn't returning his texts. Anna was sprawled out across her bed, burying her face in a pillow to muffle her sobs. It was always her mother who held her in his arms and dried her tears. Her mother that assured her not to listen to the older kids' teasing. Her mother that sang her sweet Finnish lullabies when she was sad. She wished he was here right now, but he seemed quite ill.

With such an introverted nature, Anna only had a few close friends at school and was always made fun off for her glasses, her love of reading, and, most often, her two male parents.

Anna walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out one of the thicker volumes that her father always read to her from. Flipping through the glossy pages, she noticed a common theme among the brightly colored illustrations. Besides fairytales, the stories about kids her age always featured a similar family. A mother and a father. A young boy and a girl. A dog and cat. A baby. Anna traced the figures. She envied them.

"So _this _is a real family," Anna mused. "Well, that's an easy fix! All we need is a kitty, a baby...and a mommy!"

Hanatamago wandered into the young girl's bedroom, and she scooped the dog up into her arms. "Hana, we are going to make you into our kitty!"

"Perfect!" Anna smiled slightly, adjusting the fabric ears on Hanatamago who was slightly tolerating playing dress-up.

"Anna, dinner's ready—what are ya doin' with Hana?" Sweden gasped as he took in the sight before him. His daughter, surrounded by glitter, fabric, and lots of other art supplies, trying to make their dog into a cat.

"Well, since we don't have a cat, Hanatamago is going to be our cat _and _our dog! Also, _Pappa_, where do babies come from? We need one of those too..."

Sweden stared at his daughter with a deadpanned expression. He quickly tried to formulate a response.

"D'd y'ur Uncle Denmark p't ya up to all th's, Anna?"

The girl shook her head, looking away from her looming father.

She spoke quietly, "The older kids at school have been teasing me. They say I'm a freak and so is my family because I have two daddies. I wanted us to be like a family in the storybooks! With a mommy and a daddy, a brother and a sister, and a baby! Why aren't we like that, _Pappa_? _Äiti _isn't s'posed to be a boy." Anna finally met her father's stoic gaze.

Sweden sat down on the bed and took her in his strong arms. "We're different, Anna. You know that. We're nations, not humans, so it's completely normal for you to have Finland as your _mamma_," he patted her head gently. "Don't listen to the other kids. You did the right thing by ignoring them. Humans….they very ignorant. They don't understand"

Anna smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around her father. "Thank you, _Pappa_. _Jag älskar dig_."

"_Jag älskar dig med_," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Now, go wash up for dinner, and I'll go see if how your mom is feeling."

"Alright, _Pappa_!" she said as she scurried off.

"Anna?"

"Ja?"

"What's wrong with Peter today?"

Anna giggled softly. "He's having _boyfriend _problems!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Sweden simply shook his head.

"H'w are ya feelin', T'no?" Sweden asked softly, walking into their master bedroom where his wife lay.

"Mm? Oh, I...I'm okay," he shrugged, smiling gently. His face was slightly paler than usual. "Just a stomach bug…" he trailed off. He quickly added, "How are the kids? Was it alright picking them up from school? I'm so sorry I fell asleep—"

"S'okay, they're good. Anna told me she's been havin' some trouble at school with the other kids recently. The older kids were teasing her and broke her glasses. She was looking through some storybooks, and she—"

As if on cue, Hanatamago trotted in. Finland giggled at the sight.

"What's this, Sve?"

Sweden sighed. "Anna explained to me how she wanted the picture-perfect storybook family. A mom and dad, a brother and sister, dog and a cat. And a baby, for some reason. She almost asked me where babies come from, but I managed to avoid answering that….for now," said Sweden, shaking his head.

Finland laughed nervously, "She definitely is growing up… Well, now all we need now I guess is a real cat. Right, Hana?" He picked up the small dog that was attempting to wriggle out of her costume.

"Hm? What d'ya mean?" Berwald raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"I never said we had to be the _perfect _family, but I did say once that it would be nice to have a few kids around," Finland added, looking away from his husband and attending to Hanatamago. His eyes sparkled mischievously.

Before Sweden could ask if his wife meant what he thought, Anna skipped into the room and hopped up on the bed into her mother's lap.

"_Äiti_! You're awake! Are you feeling better? I was really really worried about you. Do ya like Hana's costume? She's gonna be our kitty!" Anna said cheerily.

Finland smiled widely as his daughter, ruffling her blond hair.

"Anna, your _pappa _told me that you were worried that we weren't the perfect family," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Ja...but ya know, I love my family just the way it is! With _Äiti_, _Pappa_, Hanatamago, Peter, and my new baby sister or brother!" she exclaimed sweetly, nuzzling against her mother.

Finland chuckled softly. "Surprise, Sve…"

**I initially wasn't gonna go in that direction, but I just love SuFin SO much! And yes, Finland mentions that he wants kids in a web comic strip ;) Ciao! Hope ya liked it! **


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